Excerpts form the Black Library: On the Origin of the Black Flag
by Burls
Summary: An excerpt from the Black Library detailing the Black's role in the history of Piracy.


_Translated into Modern English from Latin by Bellatrix Black in the Year of Our Lord Merlin 977 or 1961 by the Gregorian Calendar_

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The Black Flag of piracy is one of the most feared symbols of the muggle and magical worlds, no other symbol has sent so many fleeing before it and attained a mysticism that survives to the current day. Few know of the real origin of the symbol, the history behind it has been well hidden to those outside the [Black] Family, this document will attempt to educate the reader about the secret history of the Black Flag, and how it has made the [Black] Family the feared force that it is today.

The story of the Black Flag begins with a squib son born to the Blacks in c. 1570. According to the custom of the time this son was moved into the muggle world and subtly guided to further the aims of the Family. The son, named Peter, was joined to the family Easton [NB: This may be Eston, both are referenced through the Source and in the Black Library] through the use of the _Confundus_. The Easton family were considered a suitable target as they were a family well known in the service of the English Crown.

Peter Easton began his service to the Crown, while under the guidance of Blacks, in the late 1500s as a privateer with a commission from Elizabeth I. He gained a fortune while operating against the Spanish using the aid of subtle magics from the Family. However, when James I succeeded Elizabeth I he sued for peace with the Spanish and the ability to enrich the family at the expense of the muggles appeared that it may be lost. This led to the decision being made by Easton and his Black advisors that his efforts and fleets would be shifted to piracy.

In the early 1600s Easton put his fleet to work, liberating gold from the Spanish to be converted into Galleons in the Black Vaults [NB: This seems separate from the Black Family Gringotts Vaults. Contemporary documents reference those too, current state unknown], and charging English ships protection money. His fleet ranged as far as the West Indies and the Mediterranean, according to muggle documents at the behest of the Killigrews, but the Black Library reveals that the Killigrews were another family controlled by the Blacks. The most significant event at this time was probably in 1610 when Easton blockaded the Bristol Channel, controlling all shipping from the major English and Welsh ports of the area, and a significant portion of trade in the country.

After this spectacular show of force the Blacks financed Easton to move to Newfoundland in 1612 with 10 pirate ships, he headquartered at Harbour Grace and raided and plundered ships from all of the major European powers and pressganged local fishermen with the liberal application of the same _Confundus_ that had served the Family so well, though many of the 1,500 fishermen he recruited joined voluntarily, such was the richness of the plunder.

It is at this point that Easton adopted the Black Flag, in honour of his Black Family patrons, and in honour of his supposed ancestors who had served with Sir Francis Drake in the Spanish Armada, it is believed that Drake may have flown a black flag in the 1550s. The Black flag used by Easton on his ships was a masterwork of enchantment made by the Family, black dyed Acromantula silk stitched with runes in black thread and bespelled by the Family. It brought luck to the ships that flew it and struck fear and despair to those that saw it.

On one of his expeditions from Newfoundland Easton captured Sir Richard Whitbourne, who was released on the condition of obtaining a pardon for Easton from the English Crown, which he arranged. At this point to avoid any further difficulty with the English Easton moved his operations in part to the Barbary Coast [NB: The Mediterranean coast of North Africa]. In this time the biggest boon to the Family occurred. Easton managed to intercept ta Spanish Treasure Fleet coming from the New World. This was assisted by divination efforts provided by the Family; upon interception of the fleet the use of Family magics led Easton to capture all the ships. The majority were smuggled to the Black Vaults [NB: Again, this is not Gringotts, where are the Black Vaults?!], with Easton returning to Tunis with four Galleons in tow as a ruse.

After his piracy Easton eventually settled in Villefranche with two million pounds of gold and the title of the Marquis of the Duchy of Savoy. The Family was enriched to such an extent that the Black Vaults needed expansion to maintain all the items and treasures that had been moved into them. After his death Easton's remains were smuggled away from the muggles and he was laid to rest as an honoured member of the Black family for his assistance in its enrichment.

After Easton's use of it and his extreme luck the black flag [NB: Note the small "B"] was adopted by other pirates including Martel, Teach, Vane, Worley, and Davis in the 1700s. It is believed that Teach may have obtained one of the original Black flags and used it during his early career, before losing it and subsequently being killed by Lieutenant Maynard of HMS _Pearl._ It is also believed that one of the flags may have been used by a group of Caribbean Pirates in the first quarter of the 1700s. Seven other Black flags have been lost to history, but may have been used by other pirates until the enchantments rejected them as not being members of the Family. The final flag remains with a number of mementoes of Easton in the Black Vaults. [NB: Again the Black Vaults! I must find them to establish a position of power for myself!]

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**AN: As far as I can tell the historical stuff in here is all as accurate as possible.**


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